David Cameron, the Prime Minister of England, committed an embarrassing gaffe that also, to American eyes, looks totally absurd and unthinkable.
While many Americans may not be able to tell you who David Cameron is, on the world stage, he’s kind of a big deal. And could you imagine the firestorm of controversy and infighting that would occur if Barack and Michelle Obama accidentally left Sasha or Malia behind in a Chili’s bathroom in the greater DC area?
It seems David Cameron isn’t subject to exactly the high level of security detail that Mr. President and his family live under, enabling the pub incident that occurred a few months ago but has only just been disclosed.
David Cameron and wife Samantha were enjoying a Sunday lunch at the Plough Inn in Cadsden, Buckinghamshire. When it came time to leave, daughter Nancy had gone to the ladies’ room, away from the prying eyes of her parents and any security staff that may have been present.
Cameron and his family began to arrange rides back home, but it seems Nancy was gone for a bit and did not get factored into the equation. The Camerons left with son Arthur, six, and 22-month-old daughter Florence, as well as two other families, presumably splitting across more than one vehicle.
And you know how the story goes- everyone thought Nancy was traveling with someone else, until they arrived back and realized that David Cameron’s daughter had been left alone, unsupervised in the pub. Pub staff was bewildered, the Guardian reports a local saying:
“Pub staff found their daughter in the toilet and didn’t know what to do. It’s not like you can look up David Cameron in the phone book and then ring to say, ‘You’ve left your daughter behind’. It’s frightening the prime minister of Britain can forget something so important as his own daughter.”
A spokeswoman for David Cameron says:
“He had gone with friends at lunchtime, with a number of families with children, and they left in various different vehicles… As you know, the prime minister is a very busy man but he always tries to live as normal a life as possible with his family.”
A spokesman says no one is in trouble over the unfortunate mix-up:
“Sam thought the PM had Nancy, the PM thought Sam had Nancy,. They take responsibility for their own children. No one is going to face disciplinary action.”